Lots to talk about...

Yesterday was one of those days... I did some puttering around the house, hung a few pictures and spent most of the day with needles in hand. So, where do I start?

Shortly after I started this blog, I made a pair of felted clogs for John. He has completely worn them out--toes, heels, ball of the foot--other than the top of the foot, there's not much left of them. Hopefully, by the time he gets home (this weekend, I think), he'll have a new pair waiting for him.

Here's slipper #1. I'll be casting on for the second one today. The yarn this time is Galway in a foresty green tweedy colour. The picture does not do it justice. I think it will be really nice felted. I'd like to have a pair for John's dad, too, but John's come first. I think Tony still has slippers. If you've not made these before, the sole is worked first, then the body of the slipper. Finally, a second sole is knitted, stitches picked up around the first sole and the two are cast off together. I've decided to work both slippers without the second sole first, to see if I have enough yarn. I should have, but I want to be sure. If necessary, I'll work the second sole in a different colour.

Last week, I bought some cotton yarn with an eye towards making myself some new face cloths. I've made a couple of nice, lacy ones for myself before, from a Fibertrends pattern, but John decided that the round one simply could NOT be a facecloth; it was a doily. It has disappeared in the move, probably in a box somewhere. It was nice, but was done in a 4-ply cotton and was a little small for my liking.

We have this lovely cotton at the store, and I couldn't resist the colours. They're so bright and cheerful that I bought one of every colour we had. The partial ball of blue in the back has already been turned into a facecloth, a square one. The yarn is Lang's Tissa, a dk weight combed cotton. It's very nice to work with, soft to the touch and the facecloth is nice and absorbent.

The cloth I've already done was worked in the same stitch pattern as this one...

This one was worked on 50 stitches, on a 4.0 mm (US 6) needle. The texture is perfect for a face cloth, in my very humble opinion. It's just right for gentle exfoliation, and it's kind of cushy. If you're interested, here's the stitch pattern (not from a book this time, but from my own brain!).

Row 1: *k1, p1; repeat from * to end of row
Row 2: knit
Row 3: *k1, p1; repeat from * to end of row
Row 4: purl

Repeat these 4 rows until desired length has been reached. To finish, work Row 1, then cast off knitwise.

Today, apart from the second slipper, I'll be working on this...

It will be a round facecloth (hopefully, it won't look too much like a doily this time and it won't disappear), with a lacy edge. I've been reading Martha Waterman's terrific book on lace shawls and that's what I used to get this cloth going. It's done in 16 sections, mostly stocking stitch. The edging will be a narrow one, in garter stitch. I'll post a picture when it's done, but don't expect the pattern to be written out. I didn't make notes this time.

Today is my last day off before 4 full days at the store. I've got to get my knitting in while I can. I've decided that if the sun comes out to play today (doesn't look like it so far), I'll go for a walk but if it doesn't brighten up, I'm staying in and spending quality time with my knitting needles.

By the way, don't forget to leave your comment on the contest post. Friday gets here pretty fast!